Paleontology

Alamodactylus

Alamodactylus was a pterosaur which lived in Texas during the late Cretaceous Period 90 million years ago. A handful of fossils of this animal were found within the Atco Formation, which contains rocks dating to the Coniacian and Santonian Stages… Read More ›

Pteranodon

Pteranodon, whose name means “winged and toothless”, was a pterosaur which inhabited the center of North America during the late Cretaceous Period 86-79 million years ago. Fossils of this iconic prehistoric flying reptile have been found in South Dakota, Kansas,… Read More ›

Quetzalcoatlus

Quetzalcoatlus was a massive pterosaur which lived in North America at the end of the Cretaceous Period 72-66 million years ago. Fossils of it were first discovered in 1971 within the Javelina Formation of Big Bend National Park, Texas within… Read More ›

Alamosaurus

Introduction When one hears the word “dinosaur”, one often imagines the sauropods – the large long-necked long-tailed plant-eaters which came to dominate Earth’s landmasses during the Jurassic Period. The sauropods died out in North America at the end of the… Read More ›

Nannopterygius

Nannopterygius, meaning “tiny fin”, was a genus of ichthyosaur which lived around Europe from the late Jurassic to the early Cretaceous Period approximately 152-140 million years ago. There are currently six species assigned to this genus: Nannopterygius saveljeviensis. © Jason… Read More ›

Brachypterygius

Brachypterygius, meaning “short fin”, was an ichthyosaur which lived around England during the late Jurassic Period 155-150 million years ago. Fossils of this animal were found at Smallmouth Sands near the seaside town of Weymouth, Dorset, England within the rock… Read More ›

Undorosaurus

Undorosaurus was a medium-sized ichthyosaur which lived in northern Europe during the late Jurassic Period 150-145 million years ago. Fossils of this animal have been found in Norway, Poland, and western Russia. In fact, it was named after the village… Read More ›

Onchopristis

Onchopristis was a 4 meter (13 foot) long sawfish which lived during the middle Cretaceous Period approximately 105-95 million years ago. Onchopristis belonged to the sub-order Sclerorhynchoidei of the order Rajiformes, “ray-shaped”. Despite a superficial resemblance to a modern-day sawfish,… Read More ›

Xiphactinus

There are many iconic predators of the Seven Seas: the Great White Shark, the Killer Whale, the Giant Squid, and others. In prehistoric times, the list of “epic marine killers” was much longer. One of those who definitely deserves a… Read More ›

Concavotectum

Concavotectum was a 6 foot long fish which lived in Morocco during the middle Cretaceous Period 100 million years ago. Concavotectum, which was named in 2008 from a single skull, belonged to the family Plethodidae. The plethodids first appeared during… Read More ›